On Friday, local time, an Italian presidential official announced that Meloni, who will become Italy's first female prime minister, and her cabinet will be sworn in on Saturday. At present, Meloni has formed Italy's new governing coalition, the country's first government led by the far right since the end of World War II. Notably, Meloni's Italian Brothers party, a party with neo-fascist roots, became the party with the most votes in Italy's national elections last month.
Hours before the new government was formed, Meloni, a 45-year-old career politician, told reporters that she and her allies were unanimous in asking President Sergio Mattarella to authorize her to govern. The appointment of Prime Minister put an end to the rapid rise of the Italian Brotherhood. Meloni co-founded the party in December 2012, and in its early years it was considered a right-wing fringe movement.
Meloni did not make any public comment before leaving the presidential palace of Quelinal. Earlier in the day, she met Mattarella, as well as her two main right-wing allies, Matteo Salvini and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Mattarella told reporters that the government was formed "very shortly" after the September 25 elections. After the last election in 2018, it took three months for the new governing coalition to form. In response, Mattarella said that the prompt giving of a new government "is possible because the results of the vote are clear and need to move forward quickly, and because domestic and international conditions require an adequate government to carry out its mandate".
Currently, Italy and much of the rest of Europe are grappling with soaring energy costs and the dramatic events of Russia's war in Ukraine, which could affect gas supplies this winter and continue to increase electricity bills for homes and businesses. While Berlusconi and Salvini have long been admirers of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Meloni is a staunch supporter of Ukraine against Russia, these divisions could pose a challenge to their governing coalition.
Berlusconi, who served as Italy's prime minister three times, was annoyed by Meloni's party's electoral victory. The Italian Brotherhood Party received 26 percent of the vote, while Berlusconi's Power Italia and the anti-immigrant Salvini coalition each received more than 8 percent of the vote in the election, which saw record low turnout. In 2018, when Italy held its last parliamentary elections, Meloni's party received just over 4 percent of the vote.
Although members of Meloni's party are the most powerful force in the Italian parliament, Meloni needs the support of her two allies to hold the majority. And Berlusconi, who considers himself a rare leader on the world stage, recently called her "arrogant" in written comments, apparently after Meloni refused to appoint one of the media mogul's closest advisers as a government minister.
This week, at a meeting with MPs from the Italian Power party, the former prime minister expressed sympathy for Putin's motives for attacking Ukraine. A leaked recording of a conversation to the Italian news agency LaPresse also recorded Berlusconi bragging about Putin giving him bottles of vodka last month as a gift for his 86th birthday, that he also gave the Russian leader bottles of wine, and that the two exchanged "sweet talk" notes.
Berlusconi's remarks included derogatory remarks against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Responding to Berlusconi's remarks, Meloni said anyone joining her government must remain firmly in sync with the West against Putin's war. Meloni said she would take the risk if that meant her government couldn't be formed.
And to prevent her coalition ally from potentially wavering on Ukraine, Meloni appointed one of her closest advisers, Italian brothers co-founder Guido Croceto, as defense minister. She also chose Antonio Tajani, one of Berlusconi's top aides at Forza Italia and former president of the European Parliament, as foreign minister. His pro-EU background can reassure European partners who fear Meloni's government swinging in the international union.